Descent is about confronting the shadow.

Rooted in Jungian psychology’s dark night of the soul, it speaks to the point in one’s life where the old structures no longer hold, where illusions fall away, and where the only way forward is inward. It is a solitary, often painful path—one that asks us to face what we’ve spent years avoiding.

At the center of this visual narrative is the octopus: fluid, intelligent, and ancient. It becomes an archetype of the seeker—one who moves through the dark with intuition rather than certainty.

In a moment of stillness, the octopus encounters a glowing mushroom as a symbol of forbidden knowledge.

I wanted to show a modern echo of Eve’s first bite. Yet here, the act is not transgression, but instead initiation.

To enter the underworld is to die to the former life, which means the loss of our innocence, comfort, and ignorance. But in that death, something deeper is awakened. We emerge grounded in self-awareness, humility, and inner strength gained by confronting our shadow.

Fear no longer leads and is replaced by a deeper knowing that can only be earned in the dark.

The darkness represents our shadow where we have buried our pain, trauma, shame, and the parts of ourselves we’ve felt are unacceptable.

But when we face our shadow with acceptance we find invitations to sacred truth like beacons represented here by glowing elements.

This painting challenges the viewer to consider what lies beneath their own surface, and whether they are willing to enter that cave, to sit with what they find, and emerge not with perfection, but with authenticity.